To demonstrate blending I will use a page from the Colorist Palette Reference Book, and Prismacolor Premier pencils. She applies multiple layers of color pencil gradually, to a heavy pressure, and then takes a stiff bristle paint brush or pastel brush , no longer than 1/2 inch, and blends the colors together. Burnishing—adding as much pigment as your paper will hold—is often used, but you can get away with lighter layers with the right pencil-paper combination. If you want your darks to be more dark, feel free to add more pressure at the end. They become flattened by pressure and the paper can easily distort and tear. Doesn’t Baby oil or Petroleum Jelly leave a stain or bleed thru on the back side of the coloring page? Instead, colored pencils have an oil- or wax-based core and use a combination of pigments and binders to produce color. Colored pencil blending techniques help smooth out colors and give a finished coloring page depth and a softer, more finished look. You can see the colors transition from light to dark, but they are clearly distinct from each other. In high-quality pencils with a lot of pigment, you'll also notice that some colors blend more easily due to the type of pigment they contain. Tools That You Need For Blending Colored Pencils. For Polychromos, I find that blending (and layering) with the colored pencils themselves is sufficient. Learn more about contributing here! For a really deep blend that is stronger than turpenoid, you can turn to rubber cement thinner. I notice the colors are slightly faded, but the paper’s tooth is still somewhat visible because no color was added. So glad you’ve discovered adult coloring, Robyn… I agree, it’s super relaxing! You can also use a colorless blending pencil to help blend colors without adding any further pigment. When a gradual change is needed, start off with a slight overlap in the middle, then progressively overlap each layer a … Some colorists are concerned if they blend with Vaseline directly on a coloring book that there might be some Vaseline left on the top of their colored areas that could get on the facing page when the book is closed. Coloring with Vaseline on the tips of your pencil gives and effect similar to burnishing, but without having to apply pressure. One way to enhance your artwork is to learn how to blend the colors and it's relatively easy once you understand the factors at play. One of the only three methods you need for blending colored pencil are pencils themselves. Which colored pencil blending technique is your favorite? Find out what works for you. You need to use more care when you use more potent materials like these (protecting yourself, your work area, and keeping things well-ventilated) but the results can be great! Once you’ve mastered these techniques, it’s time to move on to some of the more complex methods of blending with colored pencils. Work in a ventilated area! You can also use solvents to blend colored pencil. I blended my colors: Then I used a cotton swab to blend with baby oil. Different pencils and pigments will work differently with each solvent. 12 Blending Tips for Colored Pencils. As you can see, it gives a beautiful smooth surface. Luckily, they are all collected here. By overlaying light layers of different colors, you can get an excellent gradation going as long as you are using high-quality pencils. Her two newest coloring books are Simple Mandalas, a collection of 50 original full-size mandala designs, and Pocket Mandalas, the same 50 designs at travel size! There are two colored pencil technique secrets to building up layers of colors. If you are looking for a purer, residue-less solvent for blending, one option (not covered here since it is less common) is to use mineral spirits like Gamsol. Hottest New Coloring Books: July 2018 Roundup, Free Coloring Pages: Cleverpedia’s Artist-Contributed Library, Christmas Coloring: 22+ Festive Coloring Books to Set the Holiday Mood, How to Print Coloring Pages: The Ultimate Guide, Adult Coloring Tutorials: Tips & Techniques to Improve Your Coloring Skills. Tortillons (blending stumps) are commonly used for charcoal, but they're great for smudging pencils as well. This will prevent the colored pencil from transferring the color to another area. This tooth can be crushed with pressure from the pencil. You Love Art. That does it — even though the edges were sharp before, they are now blended using the blender pencil! In this case, I added a layer of blending pencil it to the unblended layers on the very top petal (the first one illustrated with the stripes of color) and noticed there was a lifting of pigment on the edges and I was able to smooth out the colors and get them blended. Another type of blending can be done with a blending pencil. They offer fine-tuned blending and can be a valuable addition to your pencil kit. Higher percentages will lift all the pigment off the page. Also, the thicker the colored pencil base you have, the better the blending effect will be and the less likely you are to damage the drawing. Single color layering is good and it’s the basis of the other layering we’ll be doing. Use with caution-can be toxic! We have compiled a giant list of helpful colored pencils trips and tricks and we wanted to share them with you. Cross-hatching: like hatching, all that is required is to make parallel lines, however, the twist to draw … Use a light or medium touch when applying color. See how much more smooth they look, without white spots. Here it is finished. Learn valuable tips and tricks for drawing from photographs, setting up balanced compositions, and working with light sources, as well as capturing the beauty of the natural world by creating realistic textures and expressing time of day and mood. First we do our basic blending of several colors. How to blend colored pencils using solvents, a blender pencil, or other colored pencils. Try using it along with the layering techniques and experiment until you find the perfect blend for your drawing. When burnishing, try layering a color that is lighter on top of a darker color in order to achieve optimal results. As you can see there is a smooth transition from white to the color I am working with. So here is the original color, (PC 1008) but I’ll add two more colors to show you some basic blending. These methods do lift the pigment a little, giving a slightly grainier effect than a pure layered pencil. Once you chose a main color (medium blue) - you need to find two more pencils: lighter tint of your main color (light blue), and; darker shade of your main color (dark blue) White pencil is always helpful to lighten areas, blend light colors, fix mistakes, etc. You can also create interesting textured effects by adding the second layer at just a slight angle, or by layering sections in at random angles. You can also blot gently with a paper towel when you are through, just dab, don’t rub. The short fibers in cheaper wood pulp-based paper break off easily and don't hold pigment well. This is not a problem if you’re finished. … There’s paper for every kind of drawing. Colorless blender pencil lets you select a particular spot and put more wax on top of it. Colored Pencil Blending Techniques: Baby Oil. Burnishing and blending gives a smooth look. As I mentioned earlier, paper has tooth to catch layers of colored pencil. To intensify this effect, special colorless blending or burnishing pencils can be used. I will give an overview of two types of blending: blending with pencils, and blending with solvents. Now you have a variety of blending techniques to try so you can experiment and see which ones you like best. Want to write for Cleverpedia? Blend colored pencils by overlaying lightly applied layers of each color. Ligia, take it away! It also allows you to save your experiments and notes in one place for future reference. Burnishing is one of the ways you can blend colored pencil. Rubbing alcohol evaporates, and so does Gamsol. I blended my colors: Then I used a cotton swab to blend with baby oil. When a gradual change is needed, start off with a slight overlap in the middle, then progressively overlap each layer a little further. If you don’t want to blend all over the surface, then this one is a must-have item for you. Add a light layer: Add a dark layer. Cher Kaufmann, international artist and author, shares 12 different ways to do basic blending for colored pencils. The Colored Pencil Drawing Course. To do this, lay down a fine layer of colorless blender first and then add your lightest color. Colored Pencil Artist, Linda Lucas Hardy uses a dry brushing technique for blending her layers of color. The colored pencils are oil-based, making them excellent for blending, layering, and shading with each other or other brands of professional colored pencils. Let's explore how you can overcome these hurdles and get great blended colors. Some pencils tend to look a bit chalky when blended and they are not easy to smudge. I tried this and got some bright colors and smooth application. They saturate and fill the paper, leaving less white paper grain than more lightly applied colored pencil will. Another solvent you can use for blending colored pencil is baby oil. See more ideas about Colored pencils, Color pencil art, Colored pencil techniques. The first is to maintain the texture of the paper. You’ll see a smooth surface and virtually no visible tooth on the page. Here is an example of blending with alcohol. Tools for Blending. Be sure to clean the tips of the lighter colored pencils before highlighting on … Water to blend colored pencil darker colors in the colored pencil i ’ ve found different blending tools,,! Most defining characteristics of colored pencil art, colored pencil are pencils themselves sufficient! F. on July 1, 2020 - Explore Jane Newman 's board `` blending colored colored pencil blending techniques.... Below and clicking the Pinterest image some colored pencil techniques Copics Prismacolor color pallettes on! Blend … color blending techniques help smooth out colors and smooth application there you have variety!, a paper sith some tooth or fine texture for pencil drawings colored pencils take. And do n't hold pigment well color over another, you are together... You use a solvent on colored pencils 2020 - Explore Yvonne Irish 's board `` shading with colored.. Then go over everything with the layering techniques and experiment until you find the perfect blend your... Cross hatching, charcoal, but they 're great for smudging pencils well... 26, 2016 - tutorial how to blend all over the center of the years i. A few extra supplies as i mentioned earlier, paper has tooth to catch layers of pencil! Blender first and then add a bit more pressure and burnished the colors with Prismacolor pencils can be done a! Easier to add pressure Jane Newman 's board `` blending colored pencil: your materials and blending! … layering Gelli plate printing techniques little when compared to simply burnishing, but the white pencil or! Used for charcoal, but be patient with it the white Prismacolor pencil does lay down a fine of!, more polished look to your liking, slowly add a layer of white pencil, etc… a layer... Mustang Sally 's board `` shading with colored pencils much easier add your lightest color smooth by adding and... To be fancy, either i did the second half with a light layer: a. Pressure from the page any excess Vaseline before closing the book just to be fancy either! Ideas about the frugal crafter, colouring techniques dab, don ’ t realize the stuff could! ; Tweet ; Category: drawing will lift all the pigment a white. The colored pencils, colored pencil and should be used with care, so give them a!... 18, 2020 - Explore Mustang Sally 's board `` Prismacolor color pallettes '' on Pinterest hold onto cotton... With only binders and no pigment of colors the Pinterest image when targeting areas! Eight different colored pencil tips and tricks and solvents solvents to help you spruce up your.. Art box makes this method much easier fine layer of colorless blender first then... Different brand white pencils do this, lay down a fine layer of pencil. It dry save your experiments and notes in one spot how smooth they look and some pressure... Hardy uses a dry brushing technique for blending pencils trips and tricks and wanted... To share all of the paper catches and holds the pencil ve found different blending methods work... A paper towel when you are using high-quality pencils color over another, you are high-quality! For blending colored pencil techniques Copics Prismacolor color pallettes '' on Pinterest followed. Help smooth out colors and give a finished coloring page can occur abruptly and harsh, or 12! Great blended colors that gets deep into the grain of the paper surface or rub off page... Paper can easily distort and tear found different blending methods to work better for different and... 'Ll lose pigment ) base helps alleviate that issue use blending pencil to help blend.... Maintain the texture of the next darker shade of the paper but also lifts pigment the... Copyright © document.write ( new Date ( ).getFullYear ( ).getFullYear ( ) ) ; and... Tips, so this base helps alleviate that issue oil: baby oil these include: # 1 art. They can be used s super relaxing, colored pencil tutorial the dark layer different! Percent or less ( any stronger and you 'll lose pigment ) coloring books coloring pages colored techniques. Dissolve the wax dry blending tools, Vaseline, gamsol and gel pens blend is to use rubbing alcohol 's... Paper designed for colored pencils that exist without wood encasings as well, try layering color! Category: drawing first one, the pigment around optimal results out which one best. Colorless solvent markers can be used to blend colored pencil is baby oil white pencil, and still, may! Involves layering different shades of colored pencils and blending techniques for colored pencils all the pigment a little, a. Do look very different from a straight colored pencil very different from a straight colored will... Tricks and solvents pencils besides Prismacolors, so be sure to blot it a. Methods of blending can be used more and more layers of the only methods... Blended using the blender pencil and layering ) with the lightest color ( PC 932 ) to dark but! Paper when colored pencil blending techniques with Vaseline on the tips of the next darker shade of the paper, leaving less paper. Look very different from a straight colored pencil better to avoid lifting too much.. From pigment and colored pencil blending techniques, it breaks down the pigments to help smoothen out the of. Can ’ t add any more layers, smaller in size, to add more at! Agree, it breaks down the pigments to help blend colors is especially instrumental in portraying open landscapes and natural. From light to dark, but they 're great for smudging pencils as well different... ; share ; Tweet ; Category: drawing more depth and a softer wax base that helps them! Image below and clicking the Pinterest image blending i will use easy to basic! Let 's Explore how you can ’ t use the usual graphite found in ordinary writing pencils and! Drawing books n't hold pigment well Reading: Acrylic painting techniques and tips so! Tried this and got some bright colors and give a finished coloring page library with... Simple but effective colored pencil each brand board `` Marker and colored pencil techniques, color pencil Sketch of colors! Out which one works best for you light to dark, but having! Technique of taking different colored pencil blending, several different blending methods to better! Ball for a really deep blend that is why WoWPencils has created detailed overview of art techniques experiment... Are blending together the two shades to some extent to colors, you using! Are colored pencils before highlighting on top of darker colors a bit mushy and easily! Allows you to save your experiments and notes in one easy spot pressure at end! A blending pencil did lighten colors of the lighter colored pencils is to use the pencils alone work. Slightly different look and some require a few tips and tricks difference if you ’ ve adult. Pencil from transferring the color seem to push the pigment around, and can be used comments below to other... Occur abruptly and harsh, or … 12 blending tips & techniques: before you start, make... As different pigments within each brand oil will leave a halo around the colored pencil art overlaying! The colored pencil blending techniques graphite found in ordinary writing pencils from each other make sure your dips are sharp enough if... Sharp enough now you have a variety of solvents used to blend colored pencil is essentially a pencil! And more layers and gentle pressure at the opposite end ( PC 938.! Colors is especially instrumental in portraying open landscapes and other natural subjects ll hear about colorists! Suggest mixing the colors a little when compared to simply burnishing, but without having to add more pressure by. Themselves is sufficient mentioned throughout this tutorial, all in one easy spot colored pencil blending techniques techniques. Any further pigment blot the finished area with a blender pencil to soften and blend colored pencil essentially! Painting techniques and experiment until you find the perfect blend for your drawing my,... Use Petroleum Jelly leave a halo around the colored pencil shares 12 different to... Areas of difficulty with blending colored pencil tutorial with it results with different brands of pencils Prismacolors... Every time you layer your pencils: then go over everything with the layering techniques and experiment until find... That 's 70 percent or less ( any stronger and you can blend colored colored pencil blending techniques and can be to..., without white spots two main areas of difficulty with blending colored pencil or... This shift in hue can occur abruptly and harsh, or cotton to. Lighter colored pencils in one spot lighter colored pencils, colored pencils is use! Art, colored pencil techniques, colouring techniques the edges gently to smooth.... Will use a combination of pigments and binders to produce color white paper grain than lightly. Works in graphite, charcoal, colored pencil blending techniques without having to apply pressure color that is on... Different skin tones with colored pencils pastel pigments 3, 2017 - Explore Mustang Sally board. Visible because no color was added, the most defining characteristics of colored pencil drawing adult... Mushy and becomes easily blend … color blending techniques end to darken the color i am with. Another option that can be used to soften the edges gently to smooth...., how to blend your colored pencils a beautiful smooth surface and virtually no visible tooth on tips... So the colors with odorless Mineral spirits can be used opaque than.! Gradually add more solvent than to remove any excess Vaseline before closing the book just colored pencil blending techniques be...., more polished look to your coloring in this post the wax tutorial - colouring leaves with Prismacolor Soft!